Sedum 'Red Carpet'

Sedum 'Red Carpet': Roll Out the Red at Ground Level

'Red Carpet' rolls itself out across your rock garden and waits for the paparazzi. Deep red leaves, rosy stars on top, and in fall it goes full beet red like it just heard its own name announced. WHO ARE YOU WEARING? SEDUM.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Sedum spurium 'Red Carpet' (also listed as Phedimus spurius)
• Common Name: Two-row Stonecrop
• Height: 8–15 cm (3–6 in)
• Spread: 30–45 cm (12–18 in)
• Flowers: Small, rosy-red, star-shaped flowers in clusters on short stems
• Bloom Time: Summer (June to August)
• Foliage: Small, scalloped, deep red to bronze-red leaves forming a dense mat, darkening to beet red in fall and winter

Where to Plant: Use it to edge a path, carpet a rock garden, fill a sunny slope or trail over a wall. It knits between stepping stones and handles the reflected heat from driveways and walkways. It's also good in troughs, containers and green roofs.

Companion Plants: Let 'Red Carpet' creep across a sunny, dry bed with silver mounds, orange coneflowers and purple globes. Artemisia 'Silver Mound' adds soft silver mounds at 25 to 30 cm. Echinacea KISMET® 'Intense Orange' brings orange coneflowers at 40 to 45 cm from June to October. Allium 'Purple Sensation' opens deep violet globes at 60 to 90 cm in May and June. Schizachyrium 'Standing Ovation' rises at 90 to 120 cm, blue with red tips in summer.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun, in well-drained soil. Lean, sandy or gravelly soil is ideal, and full sun keeps the leaves at their reddest. In heavy clay, mix in grit or plant on a slope so the roots don't sit wet over winter. Water through the first season, then only during long dry spells. No deadheading is required. Shear off any winter-damaged or straggly stems in spring. To fill a gap, break off a rooted piece in spring and plant it where you want more.

History: Two-row stonecrop, Sedum spurium, is native to the Caucasus region between Europe and Asia and has been grown as a groundcover for generations. Red-leaved selections like 'Red Carpet' were chosen for foliage that stays colourful all season.

Final Thoughts: Full sun, poor soil, a dry spell: this is its catwalk. Bees and butterflies hold the cameras. STRIKE A POSE AND PLANT IT.